Manchester, Michigan

48158

Photos courtesy of:Ken Huisjen

Manchester is located in the southwestern corner of Michiganís Washtenaw County in Manchester Township. This historic and picturesque town is situated on a hill overlooking a combination dam and bridge on the River Raisin. It is supported by several dozen local businesses and an industrial park. It also serves as a bedroom community to the greater Ann Arbor area, about 12 miles northeast, as well as to Adrian, about 12 miles south, and Jackson, about 15 miles west. It retains much of its turn-of-the-century architecture, including the old buildings on Main Street, an old mill and several historic homes.

Manchester was named after a township by the same name in Ontario County, New York, where many of its early settlers came from. It was first visited by a Major John Gilbert in 1833, who obtained a grant of 400 acres, platted and surveyed the area. Later that year, James Harvey Fargo and his uncle Steven Fargo built the Manchester Mill Company. It was eventually incorporated as a village in 1867.

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